Santa Cruz Mountain Organic Dread Brown Ale

(Savor, 22oz bottle) Medium tan head atop murk dark copper body. Aroma is moderately sweet, nut, chocolate, some caramel. Taste is moderately sweet, chocolate, some nut, roast, light earthy. Light-medium body, light acidity.

Date: 08/16/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

opaque brown, big beige head, light chocolate aroma, nice dry chocolate flavor, touch of roasted coffee character,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **/4

Bottle sampled on 8/16/06: Pours a dark mahogany with a frothy-well-lacing light tan head. Aroma of toasty, bready dark caramel malt. Body starts with nice dark caramel sweetness and a more bitter coffee balance toward a slightly roasty finish. Very drinkable and flavorful for a brown.

Bottle... Dark, mostly clear ruby ale with a large, frothy, khaki head. Endless retention. Well-roasted, chocolaty, nutty nose. Chocolaty flavor that leans just a touch on the sweet side of balance... as it should. Medium-bodied with lively carbonation. Lengthy, mildly bitter, grassy finish. A shout goes out to tever for shipping the bottle my way!

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, brown, mostly lasting. Body is dark brown. Aroma is moderately malty (roasted/toasted grain, caramel), lightly hoppy (herbs). Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately to heavily acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately to heavily acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. Whew, that’s one sour monkey! Like the amber ale, I have to wonder if this was intentional or not...probably not. The intense sourness was not portended by the aroma, which was pleasant enough. Hopefully this brewery will improve its sanitation procedures and future batches will be more predictable.